EY Says Entry-Level Tech Hiring Is Already Down 20–25%. If You're Waiting for a Sign, This Is It.
This isn't a future risk. EY's own reporting shows Indian IT services firms have already cut entry-level hiring by a quarter. Here's what that means and what to do differently.
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- EY's own reporting shows Indian IT services firms already cut entry-level hiring by 20–25% due to automation and AI, as of late 2025.
- EY's May 2026 Economy Watch separately warned AI's rapid evolution could hurt long-term prospects for India's large skilled IT workforce.
- This is a measured fact, not a forecast — the cut has already happened to the cohort just ahead of anyone reading this now.
- Before AI-driven cuts100
- After (20-25% cut)~78
Source: EY, Dec 2025 reporting on Indian IT services hiring
Exposure
This already happened
Most AI-jobs warnings are framed as future risk. EY's entry-level hiring data is a measurement of the past, not a prediction of the future.
Most warnings about AI and jobs are framed as forecasts — something that might happen in a few years if trends continue. EY's reporting on India's IT services sector isn't a forecast. As of late 2025, EY found that Indian IT services companies had already reduced entry-level hiring by 20–25% due to automation and AI. That's not a projection. It's a measurement of something that already happened.
Why entry-level roles went first
Entry-level technology work — basic coding, QA, first-line support, routine documentation — is exactly the kind of well-defined, repeatable task that current AI tools handle well. It's also the traditional first rung on the career ladder for a huge share of India's tech workforce. EY's May 2026 Economy Watch went further, warning that AI's rapid evolution could hurt long-term prospects specifically for India's large pool of skilled IT professionals who built careers around that traditional ladder.
The uncomfortable part
- The people most affected by this shift are exactly the people with the least experience navigating a career pivot — those just entering the workforce.
- The skills that used to guarantee an entry-level offer — writing standard code, doing routine QA — are being commoditized fastest.
- Waiting for the market to "go back to normal" isn't a strategy. Nothing in EY's data suggests this reverses.
The way forward
The response isn't to abandon technology work — it's to stop competing on the exact skills AI already does well. Someone who can direct AI tools to do the routine work, verify the output, and focus their own effort on the judgment calls the AI can't make is not competing in the shrinking 20–25%. They're the reason a smaller team can still ship the same amount of work.
If you're early in a technology career, or advising someone who is, the practical move isn't a different degree. It's building one real thing with AI-native tools — a working prototype, an automated workflow, anything that proves you can direct AI rather than compete against it.
Way Forward
Way Forward
Stop competing on skills AI already does well — routine coding, QA, documentation. Build one real thing that shows you can direct AI tools, not just perform tasks AI can now perform itself.
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